For a young lawyer, one of the most prestigious government gigs around is a Bristow Fellowship. These four one-year fellowships in the Solicitor General’s Office are generally regarded as second only to Supreme Court clerkships in prestige (and many Bristow Fellows later go on to clerk at the Court). You can read more about the Bristow, including the job responsibilities and the application process, on the Department of Justice website.

Earlier this month, the four Bristows for 2011-2012 were notified of their good fortune. Who are they?

Here are the fabulous and fortunate four, the Bristow Fellows for 2011-2012 (with law schools and prior clerkships noted parenthetically):

1. The California schools continue to do well. Last year, Stanford and Berkeley (aka Boalt Hall) had one Bristow apiece; this year, they both repeat the performance.

2. For a second year in a row, there are no Bristows from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and NYU (the other members of the top eight law schools, in addition to Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley and Penn).

3. Over four years ago, I identified Judge Neil Gorsuch (10th Cir.) — a member of The Elect, as a former clerk to Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy — as “one to watch. He’s brilliant, he’s young, and he’s incredibly well-connected. Look for him to rise through the ranks of Supreme Court feeder judges in the years to come.”

Well, Judge Gorsuch is delivering on his feeder judge promise. For the current Term, October Term 2010, he has two clerks at the Court: Matt Owen, with Justice Antonin Scalia, and Allison Jones, with Justice Clarence Thomas. And with another one of his clerks, Eric Tung, joining the ranks of the Bristows (perhaps en route to a SCOTUS clerkship?), Judge Gorsuch is showing that he can identify and grab top talent.

Sign up for the Above the Law newsletter

Litigation finance is a funding tool many companies are considering to help cover the fees and expenses related to major legal claims. We at Lake Whillans Litigation Finance have compiled a list of questions to help you determine if your client is a candidate for litigation finance.